North American Land Trust

What North American Land Trust does

North American Land Trust (NALT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit land conservation organization founded in 1992 by Andrew L. Johnson, headquartered in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and operating across 24 U.S. states with a distributed field presence in Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and supporting-organization affiliates in South Carolina (Palmetto Bluff Conservancy) and western North Carolina (Richland Trust). Its core product is the conservation easement — a legally binding, deed-attached restriction on development rights held in perpetuity by NALT — supplemented by Conservation Management Plans, ongoing monitoring and stewardship, planning/design services, and research/education programming. To date NALT has placed more than 600 easements covering over 140,000 acres, and operates three public preserves: Brinton Run Preserve (71 acres, opened 2021), 1755 Preserve (16 acres, acquired 2025), and Longcliff Preserve (44 acres, opening 2026).

Name

North American Land Trust

Legal name

North American Land Trust

Website

https://northamericanlandtrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NALT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit land trust founded in 1992 that places and stewards perpetual conservation easements across 24 U.S. states, serving individual landowners, mitigation bankers, municipalities, and corporate landowners while operating public preserves for community recreation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Land Conservation Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Conservation Easements & Land Trust Services (AFAMAMAH), Conservation & Protected Land Brokerage (Easements, Land Trust Sales) (BPAJADAH)

Keywords

• Conservation easements
• Land preservation services
• Natural resource stewardship
• Habitat conservation programs
• Conservation management planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Chadds Ford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: NALT relies on contributions from supporters to conserve more land and steward that land in perpetuity. Individual contributions can be made through their donation platform.
2. Government Grants: NALT receives grants from government agencies including Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources ($276,000 grant for Pollinator Meadow Initiative) and National Park Service ($1.8 million grant for 1755 Preserve acquisition).
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors back impactful projects and initiatives that offer local benefits as well as broader conservation objectives throughout project areas. Funding can support land acquisition, community engagement and education, as well as essential needs like infrastructure and personnel.
4. Land Donations: NALT can accept gifts of real estate subject to NALT's Land Acquisition and Conveyance Policy, providing landowners with options for legacy planning while expanding NALT's conservation portfolio.
5. Conservation Easement Services: NALT partners with landowners to create conservation easements that permanently limit development rights, working with charitable, mitigation, and municipal conservation easement holders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

North American Land Trust is a nonprofit land conservancy that permanently protects natural, scenic, agricultural, and historic land through conservation easements—legally binding agreements that run with the deed and limit development in perpetuity. NALT complements its easement portfolio with annual Monitoring & Stewardship (satellite imagery, UAV/drones, on-site visits), Conservation Management Plans for habitat improvement, public preserves open for recreation, and Research & Education programs delivered across 24 U.S. states.

Product overview

North American Land Trust is a nonprofit land conservancy operating as a single integrated conservation organization rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering consists of permanent conservation easements—the primary mechanism for land protection—supplemented by publicly accessible preserves (Brinton Run Preserve, 1755 Preserve, and Longcliff Preserve) and professional services including Conservation Management, Monitoring & Stewardship, Planning & Design, and Research & Education. The Pollinator Meadow Initiative represents a specialized habitat restoration program. NALT's public preserves serve as community-facing educational and recreational amenities, while the easement program and professional services constitute the organization's primary conservation delivery mechanisms across 24 states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Conservation Easements Legally binding agreements where landowners donate certain development rights to NALT, permanently limiting property use to protect conservation attributes and values. NALT has completed more than 600 conservation easements protecting more than 139,000 acres across 24 states since 1992, serving individual landowners, mitigation bankers, developers, municipalities, and corporate landowners.
• Brinton Run Preserve NALT's first public preserve, a 71-acre historic tract in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania within the Brandywine Creek Greenway, featuring woodlands, fields, streams, a pond, and a significant Brandywine Battlefield site. Open to the public for passive recreation, hiking, and educational programs, including the Baldino Family History and Nature Center.
• 1755 Preserve A 16-acre historic property in the heart of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, acquired in 2025, featuring the historic Joseph Davis House (built 1725) and the carriage house used by N.C. Wyeth from 1907 to 1911. Planned to open to the public as a future preserve with trail access, interpretive exhibits, and as NALT's future headquarters.
• Longcliff Preserve A 44-acre public preserve within Longcliff Village in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina, expected to open in 2026 as the heart of NALT's western North Carolina focus area and regional headquarters for southern Appalachian conservation work.
• Conservation Management Services Development and implementation of customized Conservation Management Plans providing roadmaps for land management strategies including invasive species management, habitat improvement, forest management, restoration assessment, and pollinator habitat implementation, delivered to NALT preserve owners and easement holders.
• Monitoring & Stewardship Annual conservation easement monitoring using satellite imagery, in-person visits (at least every three years), and UAV/drone technology for difficult terrain, maintaining low compliance issues through relationship-based stewardship across NALT's 24-state portfolio.
• Planning & Design Services Natural resource documentation and mapping, assistance with development planning, management strategies for limited-development visions, advocacy, and creation of partner organizations for long-term stewardship, delivered to landowners, developers, and communities engaged with NALT.
• Research & Education Collaboration with scientists, universities, nonprofits, and state and federal organizations, hosting conservation lectures, publishing the Species Spotlights series, providing resources for landowners, and facilitating research projects at NALT conservation areas.
• Pollinator Meadow Initiative Program converting lawns and fields into pollinator habitat throughout southeastern Pennsylvania, including 24 acres at Brinton Run Preserve and additional projects with homeowners associations and municipalities (e.g., Concord Township's 12-acre Bush Hill Farms Park project). Delivered in partnership with Monarch Joint Venture and the Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund.

Quantifiable outcome

• NALT has permanently preserved more than 139,000 acres of natural land in 24 states
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Monarch Joint Venture (MJV)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022MJV is a partnership of state and federal agencies, nonprofits, community groups, and businesses to protect monarch butterfly habitat. NALT joined MJV in 2022 to ensure successful habitat restoration at Brinton Run Preserve.
• American Battlefield Trust (ABT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs the nation's leading heritage land preservation organization, ABT preserves America's hallowed battlegrounds and educates the public. NALT partners with ABT to preserve important battlefield properties both via acquisition and conservation easements. ABT was instrumental in helping NALT acquire Brinton Run Preserve and 1755 Preserve.
• Balsam Mountain Trust (BMT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBMT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that began in 2000 to inventory and manage preserve land and conduct conservation education. NALT holds a conservation easement of the Balsam Mountain Preserve property in North Carolina and works with BMT to provide stewardship and education.
• The Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund (BBHF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBBHF is dedicated to establishing high quality pollinator habitat. Their Seed A Legacy program partnership funded seeds for pollinator habitat for 25 acres at Brinton Run Preserve. NALT has expanded the program to Pennsylvania.
• Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania (LNPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNALT signed the Treaty of Friendship with LNPA in 2022, acknowledging the Lenape as indigenous caretakers of these lands. NALT and LNPA performed a Land Acknowledgement at Brinton Run Preserve and plan to involve LNPA in a Lenape Garden at the preserve.
• Palmetto Bluff Conservancy (PBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPBC was founded in 2003 to protect maritime forests and tidal creeks of Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina. PBC is a 509(a) supporting organization of NALT dedicated to protecting natural resources in the South Carolina Lowcountry.
• Richland TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner25 years ago, NALT founded Richland Trust as a 509(a)(3) supporting charitable organization dedicated to stewardship of conservation areas in Southwestern North Carolina. Today, Richland Trust owns nearly 300 acres of Southern Appalachian forests, hemlock forests, and mountain bogs.
• Southern Highlands ReservecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDedicated to sustaining natural ecosystems of the Blue Ridge Mountains through preservation, cultivation and display of native plants. Located in Western North Carolina at 4,500 feet elevation, their 120 acres are under Conservation Easement with NALT.
• Pennsylvania Association of Non-Profit OrganizationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNALT is accredited by PANO as having met all requirements of the Standards for Excellence program. PANO supports nonprofits through training, consultation, and best practices guidance.
• WeConservePAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeConservePA is a community of conservation volunteers and professionals united around conservation in Pennsylvania. NALT benefits from shared resources regarding advocacy, policy, education, and land management.
• Wild OnesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWild Ones promotes native landscapes through education, advocacy, and collaborative action. NALT is both a Nonprofit Partner and Member of Wild Ones.
• Lewis Ginter Botanical GardenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLewis Ginter Botanical Garden's mission is connecting people through plants to improve communities. A local family secured a conservation easement on their 79-acre estate through NALT to preserve the land in perpetuity.
• St. James Conservancy (SJC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSJC promotes education and environmental conservation practices and protects lands under Preservation/Conservation Stewardship with NALT. Rare Venus flytraps have been discovered at NALT conservation areas through SJC.
• Mitigation Resources of North AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMitigation Resources of North America gifted a replica Verbruggen Revolutionary War cannon to NALT for display at Brinton Run Preserve. Dr. Eric Anderson, President of MRNA, spoke at the cannon dedication ceremony celebrating America's 250th anniversary.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Peconic Land Trust: Long Island, NY-based regional land trust with similar easement, stewardship, and preserve operations. A board emeritus member of NALT (John v.H. Halsey) founded Peconic, making it a closely linked comparable organization.
• Natural Lands: Pennsylvania and mid-Atlantic-based regional land trust that operates public preserves and holds conservation easements. Highly comparable to NALT in geography, services offered, and preserve-based community engagement model.
• American Battlefield Trust: National nonprofit dedicated to preserving America's battlefields through land acquisition and easements — a direct partner of NALT on Brinton Run and 1755 Preserves. Comparable in easement-driven model and federal grant access (American Battlefield Protection Program).
• Maine Coast Heritage Trust: Regional land trust operating in Maine with a comparable mix of fee-owned preserves, conservation easements, and donor-supported stewardship. Useful comparable for NALT's hybrid preserve-plus-easement model.
• Brandywine Conservancy: Regional land trust operating in the Brandywine watershed and Chester County, PA — the same geography where NALT is headquartered and operates Brinton Run and 1755 Preserves. Most directly comparable peer given overlapping territory and easement-driven mission.

Broad incumbents

• Trust for Public Land: National nonprofit focused on land conservation and creating parks close to home. Comparable to NALT in mission and easement/land acquisition work, with overlapping municipal and corporate clientele but a larger operating footprint and policy arm.
• The Conservation Fund: National nonprofit focused on conservation through land acquisition, mitigation, and working forest/ranch deals. Comparable to NALT's corporate and mitigation banker engagement, but operates at a larger scale across the full US.
• The Nature Conservancy: The largest global conservation organization, with operations across all 50 US states and 80+ countries. Directly comparable to NALT as a nonprofit land conservation organization using easements, land acquisition, and stewardship, but operates at vastly greater scale and scope.
• Ducks Unlimited: Largest US wetland and waterfowl conservation organization with easement and habitat programs. Comparable to NALT's habitat and wetland conservation work but focused specifically on waterfowl habitat at much larger scale.

Others

• Land Trust Alliance: National membership organization that represents and accredits land trusts including NALT. Not a direct competitor, but an ecosystem enabler that shapes standards, accreditation, and policy affecting NALT's operating environment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@NorthAmericanLandTrust
• Facebookfacebook.com/BrintonRunPreserve
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/north-american-land-trust
• Instagraminstagram.com/north_american_land_trust

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles25 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about North American Land Trust